taken 6 years ago, near to City of London, Great Britain

Blackfriars Station opened as St Paul's Station in 1886. Built by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (who also constructed the railway bridge). Renamed Blackfriars in 1937. The station was rebuilt and reopened along with an underground station in 1977. The main service using the station is the Thameslink service which includes trains to and from Bedford, St Albans City and Luton in the north; and Brighton, Sutton and Sevenoaks in the south. The station has now been extended onto Blackfriars railway Bridge.

There have been two structures with the name. The first bridge was opened in 1864 and was designed by Joseph Cubitt for the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. Massive abutments at each end carried the railway's insignia, preserved and restored on the south side. It eventually became too weak to support modern trains, and was removed in 1985 - all that remains is a series of columns crossing the Thames and the southern abutment, which is a Grade II listed structure Link . The remaining bridge, built slightly further downstream (to the east), was originally called St Paul's Railway Bridge and opened in 1886. It was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and Henry Marc Brunel and is made of wrought iron.

Discussion on TQ3180

A view soon to disappear into history, as part of the Thameslink programme (what was originally called Thameslink 2000, but it has seen a few years' slippage!). From 22 March 2009, the terminating platforms of Blackfriars Station (the ones on the right hand side of this photo) will be closed, with the station demolished. Previously terminating trains are being diverted into the through platforms (on the left) before continuing through City Thameslink, Farringdon and St Pancras to terminate at Kentish Town or further north.

The eastern side of Blackfriars Railway Bridge will then be renewed span by span, with new platforms and a roof installed extending over the length of the bridge. The through lines, which up to that point will have continued to use the western side of the bridge, will then be transferred to the new platforms, after which the operation will be repeated for the western side of the bridge, including widening to utilise the first line of piers of the original bridge (the left hand set in TQ3180 : Blackfriars Bridge).

When complete, due in 2011, the new Blackfriars Station will be accessible from both sides of the Thames, and will be able to handle three times as many trains as the present station. When further work around London Bridge has been completed, the full Thameslink service is due to come into effect, with up to 24 trains per hour passing each way between Blackfriars and St Pancras, serving a far wider range of destinations both north and south of the river than the current service.